


Le chant des sirènes

by WanderingWanda



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-01
Updated: 2015-12-01
Packaged: 2018-05-04 10:26:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5330759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WanderingWanda/pseuds/WanderingWanda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Marinette had loved Adrien without knowing that he was Chat Noir; Adrien had loved Ladybug without knowing she was Marinette. For Marinette, it was the sign that they were meant to be, a match made in heaven, linked by an unbreakable red string of fate."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Le chant des sirènes

**Author's Note:**

> I really loved writing this one shot, even though it didn't turn out eactly how I planned it would, but well. The name comes from a French song thaht inspired me, by Fréro Delevaga.  
> French being my first language, there are probably some mistakes here and there, I apologize!  
> Bonne lecture !

_The room is slowly starting to be filled with darkness. That’s how Marinette knows that she’s been working for hours. She drops her needle with difficulty: her fingers now bloodless were clenching it as if her life depended on it. Her back hurts like hell, her eyes feel like they are full of sand and she can hardly move her head, her stiff neck making her groan every time she tries._

_She looks at her work, a bizarre sensation in her chest. It’s not just a dress._

You don’t always design and make your own wedding dress, right?

_“I’m done for tonight”, she mutters as she lets herself fall on her bed. But she cannot sleep. Her thoughts start wandering, like they always do when she stops working._

 

His smile was always so cocky, Marinette wanted to punch him. She wasn’t a violent person (she was pretty good at kicking ass, though) and she believed in communication. But sometimes, her partner mad her so mad.

Well, “partner”… He had acquired his ring after she had started saving Paris and its citizens from being turned into villains by strange butterflies, as black as the hearts of the people they possessed, but he still acted as if he owned the place.

“Did you miss me, my Lady?” Chat Noir would say, titling his head, giving her his brightest smile worthy of a toothpaste commercial, every time they would meet to chase an Akuma.

And she would push him away.

It wasn’t that Chat Noir was a drag. On the contrary, he had saved her on several occasions. She wasn’t being ungrateful. However, his constant flirting was puzzling. Marinette wasn’t used to the idea of someone flirting with her; she had had several boyfriends ( _okay, only two, but still_ ), and they had never been like that with her. She wondered if Chat was just the flirtatious type. The idea that he might have been genuinely interested in her had quickly faded away.

He was just some kind of Casanova who thought that he was drop dead gorgeous. Marinette felt no remorse in turning him down.

After all, she only had eyes for her handsome, charming, modest and nice Adrien. With just one look of his, she would become a stuttering mess. She was embarrassed by the way she reacted to her crush. Marinette had never felt that way; it was a sign that Adrien was the real thing.

During particularly boring classes, she would catch herself daydreaming about their wedding and future life together. Alya would then nudge her, recognizing the vague look on her friend’s face.

She might be too shy to talk to her crush right now, Marinette was convinced that, when she could gather up the courage to, they could live something incredible together.

After countless battles, Marinette considered Chat Noir one of her closest friends. Like Ladybug’s shadow, he was never too far away, ready to stop the forces working against them. He had become a good fighter, and an even better pal.

They never talked about their civilian lives. Marinette had established this rule, fearing that she would one day slip information about herself. It was unlikely that Chat knew Marinette (apart from the time she had to go one a“date” with Nathanael, but that didn’t really count) but she couldn’t take the risk.

However, the image of a confident girl would sometimes wear off, when she couldn’t hide the sadness that her dual life brought to her and the pain of knowing that her failures could cost someone’s life. Then, her perceptive partner would find a way to cheer her up, usually by teasing her, being silly or complimenting her. It always worked.

Marinette wasn’t bothered by his flirting now. It could be funny to see him act smooth and boast. She knew he wasn’t the stereotypical 2D guy she had assumed he was. Sometimes, she would feel his feline eyes linger on her. He would turn away when she would try to make eye-contact.

Maybe… Maybe Chat Noir did felt something for her. But he liked the image Ladybug showed to the world, the girl who took no shit, who could save an entire city in on afternoon, always shinning, always so bright. He wouldn’t like Marinette Cheng, the girl who stuttered of embarrassment, who no one admired.

Moreover, she couldn’t reciprocate his feelings. She liked Adrien with all her heart. Over the month, they had grown closer: thanks to Alya’s help, Marinette had managed to ask him out. Well, it had not been a date and they had not been alone. With Alya and Nino, they went to the circus. It had been a fun afternoon; Marinette couldn’t believe that she had stayed sitting down next to him, in the dark and for almost two hours, without freaking out. After that, they had started exchanging messages. The more information she gathered about him, the more she felt her crush turning into something else, something deeper than what she had felt the moment she had seen the handsome blonde boy entering their classroom.

Marinette knew that unreciprocated love was tough. When Chat Noir would smile sadly at her, she would respond with a twinge of sorrow. Maybe if she had never met Adrien…

 

Her world was turned upside down. What was she supposed to do?

_Adrien Agreste is Chat Noir._

How could have she been so blind? The guy she loved wholeheartedly was her partner whom she had always turned down.

It had been an accident. An Akuma had attacked their school, and she had had to transform into a locked room. Piece of cake, right? Except that Marinette had been dumb enough to not check if the room was really empty, and she had transformed in front of Adrien, who, unaware of the fight outside, was looking for a stupid book.

At first, she had been mortified: she had _stupidly_ revealed her secret identity in front of the guy she was in love with. That was _so_ Marinette.

But then Adrien had looked at her with a strange glint in his eyes, his jaw had dropped. Marinette had wanted to say something, to invent an excuse ( _How can I? He saw me!_ ), or to just disappear forever.

But Adrien had had an astonishing answer for her. Without words, he had transformed. Into Chat Noir. She almost screamed.

Awkwardest moment of Marinette’s life.

They had barely talked after that, which had been incredibly easy, since they were on summer holidays. It was entirely Marinette’s fault: how could she face him after learning that? She couldn’t believe that Chat, flirty, arrogant, good fighter Chat was _Adrien_.

 

Finally, he was the one who made contact first. One night, when Marinette was working on a skirt in her room to keep her mind busy, he had knocked on her window. She had jumped with surprise, her heart racing as she saw Chat Noir with a determined look on his face, waiting for her to open the window. She only did because she was scarred he would make noise and wake up her parents.

“Is that a bit stalkerish ?” he asked sheepishly as he entered.

He looked so out of place with his costume on her room. She had always tried to separate her civilian life from her superhero one. Adrien being Chat Noir had erased the imaginary line she had drawn between Marinette and Ladybug.

“What are you doing here?” she whispered, her voice becoming too high-pitched to be recognizable. “You need to leave, nobody can see you here!”

Nevertheless, she was quite happy he came as Chat Noir. She knew how to deal with Chat. Adrien was a whole new story.

“I know, I know,” he said, scratching his head without looking at her. “But I had to, Marinette. You stopped patrolling, you don’t answer your phone… I know you weren’t expecting that, I understand. But we can’t stay like that! We are partners… We are friends”.

The hurt in his voice left her mouth dry. Her brain was empty: she had no come-back, no answers, no way to explain her actions. So instead, she apologized.

“I’m _sorry._ I’m sorry I’m Ladybug. I’m sorry. I know you’re disappointed. _I’m so sorry_.”

His embrace stopped her trail of words. His chin was on her head and his hands were patting slowly, gently, her back. Her face was wet with tears she hadn’t even realized were burning her face.

“I had idea you had such low esteem”, Chat Noir murmured.

They started dating three weeks after, once the awkwardness had passed, and they had sorted everything lingering between them.

 

_Marinette wants to organize the weeding all by herself. She doesn’t even let her mother help. Alya jokingly said that she was turning into a control freak._

_When she thinks about her wedding, her mind is focused. It helps with the thoughts she can’t control. She’s doing everything she can for the ceremony to be perfect. It has to._

 

Being a young adult saving Paris hadn’t been easy. At the age of twenty-two, Marinette was overwhelmed with her two jobs: her design internship and protecting the city. She had discovered with the years that the world was a stranger place than she suspected and Akumas weren’t their only problem.

However, even though she was sleep deprived, stressed and in danger pretty much every night, Marinette was happier than ever.

She was supported by her friends and family, she was finally at ease with herself, she loved every bit of her jobs and she had Adrien.

They had been together for seven blissful years now. Fighting crime during the night, hanging out like a normal couple during the day. After particularly dreadful nightmares, Adrien was the only person who could calm her down, just by hugging her. Marinette would let her head rest on his chest and listen to his regular heartbeat, basking in the fact that the man she loved the most was with her, alive and safe.

He would kiss her forehead gently and whisper into her ear: “Don’t worry. I am there to catch you. Sleep well, my Lady.”

Marinette still marveled sometimes at the fact that Chat Noir and Adrien were the same person. Tikki had once told her that Ladybug and Chat Noir had always been connected through the centuries. Their connection wasn’t necessarily romantic: they had been friends, companions, related, and rarely enemies. However, their timeless bound was deeper than what the human mind could phantom, and Ladybug and Chat Noir had always found a way to meet.

Marinette had loved Adrien without knowing that he was Chat Noir; Adrien had loved Ladybug without knowing she was Marinette. For Marinette, it was the sign that they were meant to be, a match made in heaven, linked by an unbreakable red string of fate.

It wasn’t a romantic night. It was raining, Marinette was freezing despite her suit, and the snow on the rooftops and pavements was starting to look like a brownish slop. Yet, Marinette was overjoyed. A thousand of butterflies gained live in her stomach as Adrien blurt out, during their patrol: “Will you marry me?”

By the look on his face (confusion followed by mortification), Marinette understood he had planned a dreamier proposal. He was blushing so hard under his mask, and a few beads of sweat were heading up his forehead. “Oh My God”,he shouted, without worrying about the Parisians who had heard noise and were now looking at the rooftop. “I didn’t want to do that _like that_! I’m so sorry Marinette, I have a ring and all…”

He couldn’t finish his sentence, his mouth suddenly busy somewhere else. His lips felt like sunbeams on her skin during a winter morning and tasted like the most delicious pastries her parents sell. She wanted to stay like that forever.

 

_It’s the D-day. She didn’t sleep at all, the same memories nagging her. A single glance at her mirror indicates her it’s not important: she seems as awake as usual, there are no signs of dark rings under her eyes. She is used to little sleep and can trick her body into thinking she is well-rested. She has been doing that for years, after all._

 

They had been engaged for exactly three weeks when their old enemy sent a new Akuma. Its target was an eleven-years-old child, whose life had just been shattered with the death of her mother, after a battle against a lung cancer due to pollution. With the corruption of her young heart, she had received the power, lodged in her right gardening glove, to make plants grow everywhere. It was certainly good for the environment, but not for the building being mercilessly destroyed.

Marinette hated when her adversary was a kid. Using such young and innocent minds was disgusting, even for Hawk Moth. Moreover, the thought that she had to hurt them to prevent them to harm anyone was upsetting.

“It’s going to be okay," Chat Noir assured her as they swung to the town hall, where the girl was perched on. "And if we finish the job quickly, I’ll cook something for you tonight.”

Marinette chuckled as Chat Noir cut a plant that almost made him fall.“You’re a terrible cook. I think I prefer fighting flowers.”

He was going to answer, but his expression shifted. He stopped on a rooftop and before he could say anything, Marinette felt her lungs clear out and her bones crack. A giant plant had grown right under her feet and had caught her like a snake. Marinette couldn’t move, black spots dancing in front of her eyes.

“Ladybug, hang on!” She heard Chat’s voice, but she couldn’t see him, her head was turned towards the town hall from where the girl was shouting: “Breath, Paris! Breath!”

If only she could use her lucky charm…

Nothing seemed to be able to cut the giant plant. Chat Noir had to use his Cataclysm: his claws cut through the stem as if it were paper.

Marinette was coughing on her knees, her body shaking. In an instant, Chat was by her side, his hands on her back.

“You’re okay, Ladybug?”

She didn’t trust her voice to be even and her throat was on fire; she simply nodded. She would thank him later.

“Okay, great”, he said with a relieved expression. “We have to hurry now, my transformation is gonna wear off soon. We have to catch the Akuma now, since we can’t destroy those plants.”

She squeezed his hand. Everything that happened right after that was a blur. Like in a movie, Marinette could see herself running towards the girl, who had raised an oak tree to fight against Chat Noir. She heard his ring beep. They had to hurry. What did she do? Did she try to reason with the kid? Did she use her lucky charm right away? Years after, she still cannot remember. She has played this scene so many times in her head that she’s sure she has changed details.

She saw Chat Noir being caught by a plant just like her a few minutes ago. But it was okay: she had the glove in her hand.

“Ladybu…” he yelled, and Marinette heard a thud. But it was okay, she had purified the butterfly. The plants were disappearing all around the city, the buildings that had been smashed were one again, and even the enormous stalk holding Chat Noir was gone. She saw him falling on the ground, but it was okay, because it was a small fall. It was okay.

He had changed back into Adrien, and Marinette thanked every God she knew that no one was looking at him. Plagg was knocked out on the ground.

“We did it!” she said gleefully while rushing next to her fiancé. “And it was so quick, Adrien. Adrien?”

He didn’t answer back. Marinette carefully brushed his cheek. He didn’t react. “Adrien?” His green eyes and his mouth (the mouth she had kissed on countless occasions, that had pronounced the worst puns she had ever heard) were half-open, and his head was making a weird angle with the rest of his body. She gasped, and repeated his name with more conviction, as if he would answer only if she were persistent enough.

“Adrien? Answer me. Adrien. _Adrien!_ Oh my God!“

Why were tears falling from her eyes, he was going to cook for her, they were going home together like they always did, it was just a normal fight, they had had worse enemies. Without thinking, she kissed him brutally. He then would open his eyes, maybe blush a little…

But he didn’t wake up, it wasn’t a curse. That horrible thud…

She started screaming like a wounded animal. People were now gathering around them, but she didn’t care. She didn’t care, she couldn’t care. She grabbed him by his shoulder, hugged him with all her might. He didn’t put his arms around her. His face was wet, but it was because of Marinette’s tears.

He couldn’t do that to her, they were getting married, they were saving Paris, they were soul mates, they were made for each other…

She kept calling him, but he never answerd.

 

_Marinette is thirty-three, and she feels older than ever, as if she has lived centuries. She looks at her wedding dress: it’s perfect. Alya has told her it’s her masterpiece. It really is._

_But now that she is wearing it, she starts loathing the dress. It feels so wrong. She isn’t a bride. For years, she has been a widow._

_She automatically touches her earrings and the ring. She has been using both for years: she trusts no one to replace him, to run around as Chat Noir. It wouldn’t have been right._

_Marinette is supposed to get married in one hour. Her fiancé is nice. His smile widens when he sees her. He had been her first date since…_

_Her parents have tried to call her. She has turned off her phone. She needs to think. She accepted his proposal because she was a “sad single woman”, and her friends were worried about her. At first, when they kissed, the guilt would press her heart and burn her lungs. Then, she thought the image of the charming blonde man was fading away._

_Now, she realizes she is a foolish woman who hasn’t learnt anything._

_It’s not healthy. It’s not healthy, and she cannot help it. She starts playing with the ring. Ten minutes._

_“Tikki, Plagg. Let’s go.”_

_The two kwamis don’t say a thing as they go inside the ring and earrings. They understand her. Her dress disappears, replaced by her suit._

_Marinette does what she knows best: she runs away. She jumps on rooftops, basking in the feeling of being free,_ alive _. The memories of the life she wanted won’t stop nagging her. But now, she’s okay with it. She can feel the red string around her finger. It hasn’t been cut, just loosed a little._

_After this day, Marinette becomes a shadow, whereas Ladybug makes her comeback after almost ten years of inactivity._


End file.
